Suicide Squad #7 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Daniel Sampere, Penciller; Juan Albarran, Inker; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Tom Taylor delivers a master class in tension in an issue that focuses almost entirely on Deadshot—only a short time, as we know, before the character seemingly meets his end. Aside from a brief prologue focusing on Ted Kord as he continues to hunt down the Suicide Squad, we follow Floyd Lawton in almost real-time. He returns home after leaving the Squad and reunites with his daughter and his ex. His daughter is now a teenager, and despite Floyd’s… questionable parenting and long absence, his daughter idolizes him. So much, in fact, that she’s even designed her own superhero costume. Floyd seems to be determined to turn over a new leaf, talking with his ex about what he wants to do if he’s not a killer. But the government can’t be trusted, and his pardon turns out to be not worth the paper it’s written on. Soon enough, he and his family find themselves in danger from government forces.
The latter half of the issue is brilliant, but may be very hard to read—especially for parents. My stomach dropped the second Floyd’s daughter decided to jump into the fray and protect her dad, and knowing Taylor’s willingness to break our hearts I was fully expecting the worst. But it doesn’t happen simply because of something Floyd underestimated—the power of found family. When the rest of the Squad appears at the end of the issue, putting themselves back on the radar of the bad guys, it’s one of the most dramatic and powerful moments of the issue. Despite this issue being one gut-punch after another and full of extreme tension, it’s a surprisingly optimistic issue, which means that the next gut-punch should be right around the corner. This is easily the best Suicide Squad title since the Ostrander/Mandrake days and is quickly becoming one of the best books in DC’s library.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
